THE QUEEN OF CHESS: HOW JUDIT POLGÁR CHANGED THE GAME, by Laurie Wallmark and Stevie Lewis, little bee books, July 25, 2023, Hardcover, $18.99 (ages 6-9)
The Queen of Chess, by Laurie Wallmark and Sevie Lewis, tells the true story of how Judit Polgár became the youngest chess grandmaster in history.
The queen of chess, Judit Polgár, dazzled the world as a prodigy, winning tournaments, gold medals, and defeating eleven world champions, including Garry Kasparov and Magnus Carlsen. At her peak, Judit was rated the eighth best chess player in the world.
But before these tremendous successes, Judit burst onto the chess scene as a ferocious, child competitor. Beating adults by five-years-old, and winning international tournaments by age nine, Judit was destined for greatness. Follow her incredible journey as she strives for chess immortality, hunting to become the youngest chess grandmaster in history. —Synopsis provided by Little Bee Books
There’s something about the cover of The Queen of Chess that makes you want to read it. The focused gaze of Judit Polgár pulls you in, daring you to open the book.
Inside, is the compelling story of a girl who wanted to prove herself and prove that women were capable of being chess grandmasters. Judit proved both.
Author Laurie Wallmark does an exceptional job explaining the process of chess without complicating it. Readers don’t need to know all the rules of chess to understand Judit’s passion.
Stevie Lewis’ artwork brings the game of chess to life. Her almost cinematic framing creates tension and moves the narrative forward.
A timeline and brief rundown on the mathematics of chess are included at the end. The Queen of Chess is a fast-moving biographical picture book that kids will find fascinating.
About the creators:
Award-winning author Laurie Wallmark writes picture book biographies of women in STEM. Her titles include Code Breaker, Spy Hunter: How Elizebeth Friedman Changed the Course of Two World Wars; Ada Byron Lovelace and the Thinking Machine, which received four starred reviews and a Cook Prize Honor; Grace Hopper: Queen of Computer Code (Kirkus star); Hedy Lamarr’s Double Life, a Crystal Kite Winner and Cook Prize Honor recipient; and others. Laurie has an MFA in Writing from VCFA and is a former software engineer and computer science professor. She enjoys puzzles and games including, of course, chess. You can find Laurie online at www.lauriewallmark.com.
Ironically, Stevie Lewis is a terrible chess player. But she admires the game and loved illustrating a book about it! After working in animation, she now illustrates children’s books including Prince & Knight by Daniel Haack. Recently, she moved to Montana, where she lives with her partner and two dogs. Visit her website: chocosweete.com.
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